Wonderwall
by Caty C
Summary: Barney and Nora are about to get married, but where does that leave Robin? The gang is once again caught up in all of the Barney/Robin drama.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_Robin's Perspective_

I was out on assignment when I got the call. Ted said it was urgent, that I needed to come to MacLaren's immediately; something about Barney. Gosh, every time I heard Barney's name, my heart skipped a beat. I know we failed when we tried a relationship 2 years ago, but I wanted to give it another try; I was in love with him. You know, after all the stuff that went on with him, and the connection that there was between us, I was sure he felt the same way.

I got in the Worldwide news truck and sped to the bar, leaving my cameraman wondering what the hell was wrong with me. I arrived at the bar a few short minutes later, running inside only to have my heart stabbed. Barney was there, but he wasn't alone…

"I have a big announcement for you, Robin!" he said, holding out a glass of champagne, his arm around _her._ I downed the drink in about 2 seconds, leaving _her _staring at me like I was an alcoholic.

"Alright Scherbatsky, are you ready to get your mind blown?" he asked.

"Yeah, baby!" I said, trying to be excited that _she_ was here.

"Nora and I…are getting married!" he said; my heart shattered.

"In 4 ½ months!" Nora shouted, thrusting her diamond clad finger in my face like it was a tag proving that Barney was all hers now. I started to cry.

"Robin, honey, what's wrong?" Lilly asked, rubbing my shoulders and leading me away from Barney, Ted, and Marshall's prying eyes.

"Nothing…I'm just…so happy for Barney and Nora!" I cried, wiping my eyes with my sleeves.

"Robin, where's the poop?"

"Not this again, Lilly."

"Robin, I know something is bugging you, now tell me!"

"Lilly, I can't deal with this."

"With what, Honey?"

"What do you think, Lilly?" I ran out of the bar, tears streaming down my face. I knew that she wouldn't follow me because of her being pregnant and not wanting to run (especially with a belly that size), but I heard the door close only seconds after I got outside.

"ROBIN! WAIT!" Ted cried out, running up to me. He gave me a hug and I buried my face in his shoulder, crying.

"It's not fair, Ted!" I cried.

"I know, Robin."

"No, you don't know."

"Robin, when you broke up with me and Gael came back with you, it broke me to pieces."

I stared at him in disbelief; he had never told me that before, "I guess you do know how I feel."

"Trust me, it gets better over time."

"I don't want it to get better, I want Barney."

"Well, you can't have him. Barney is marrying Nora, and we can't stop it. I mean, think about it, do you really want to make Barney unhappy by breaking them up?"

I sat and thought for a few minutes. I wanted to be happy, but not at the cost of Barney being unhappy. Sacrificing for the people you love was something I was never good at, but if it meant hurting Barney, I couldn't do it; I wasn't that evil.

"Just try and get to know Nora, Robin, you may even like her."

"I guess I can try that. For Barney's sake."

Ted put his arm around my shoulder and walked me back to the bar where Barney and Nora waited to destroy my happiness forever.

"Are you alright, Scherbatsky?" Barney asked, giving me a hug. I couldn't answer him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**1 month later**

_Lilly's Perspective_

Nora had asked Robin and I to be bridesmaids at her wedding; she had very few friends in New York. Robin was, of course, very unhappy about this but at least she was making an effort. I couldn't help but be happy that Barney was finally going to settle down and that maybe he wouldn't be such a pig anymore. But that's beside the point.

Today, Nora, Robin, and I were going to get Nora's wedding dress. She only wanted to go to one store, which made Robin happy because it meant spending less time with her.

"Alright, guys, what do you think?" Nora had us open our eyes; surprisingly, we were in front of the Vera Wang wedding dress store.

"What the hell?" asked Robin, staring in disgust at the windows of the store; Vera Wang was very expensive and to be honest, you could get a dress that looked exactly like one of hers from another store for much much less.

"Lilly, are you sure you want to be in there with all that gross smelling perfume crap? Hasn't that kind of thing been making you sick since you got pregnant?" Robin asked, patting my whale sized belly.

"It hasn't bugged me for months," I said. Poor Robin, not only was she in love with the groom but she also had to deal with being a bridesmaid. I almost told her that I wanted to go, but I also had an obligation to Barney; he had been one of my best friends for a long time.

"Alrighty, let' go in," Nora led us into the store.

She picked out about a zillion wedding dresses she wanted to try on, each one costing more than 15,000 dollars (how in the hell could she afford this?). After about the 15th dress, I started feeling a little uncomfortable and Robin was practically asleep.

"Robin, can you go get me a coffee?" Nora asked, handing Robin a $10 bill. Robin took it and walked out the store just as my water broke.

"Lilly, we have to get you to a hospital!" Nora cried, running back to the change room and putting her regular clothes back on.

"I need to wait for Robin!" I shouted.

"NO TIME!" Nora hustled me outside and into the cab, telling him to go as quickly as he could to the nearest hospital. I couldn't help but look out the back window as we drove away; I saw Robin walking back to the shop and noticing that we were gone. I knew she would feel betrayed, and to be honest, I could have probably gone a few more minutes before it was necessary to leave for the hospital.

I got out of the cab as quickly as I could, phoning Marshall and Ted as I ran into the hospital and ordered the nurses to take me to the maternity ward. Marshall arrived with Ted in tow about 10 minutes later.

"Sorry, Lilly pad, there was a traffic jam. We had to get out and run," Marshall kissed my forehead and hustled Ted out of the labor room with Ted waving at me as the door closed.

"Marshall, you have to call Robin! Nora made me leave her there, she's going to want to be here for this, I want her to be here for this!" I cried, grasping my stomach as I had a contraction.

"No time, baby. We will call her when the baby's born."

I huffed and I puffed and I tried with all my might not to scream, and before I knew it, it was time to deliver.

"GAHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, pushing. It had been 45 minutes since I was wheeled into the delivery room.

"It's coming, baby, it's coming!" Marshall cried.

"And here she is!" said the doctor, holding up a little pink thing that was screaming and crying and squirming around.

"We have a daughter!" I cried, kissing Marshall and holding my arms out to hold the baby. The doctors left Marshall and I alone with our daughter in my arms and both Marshall and I lying on the bed; Marshall had his arm around my shoulder and was kissing my cheek.

"What do you want to call her?" he asked, kissing the baby's forehead.

"Well, what is one name that we both liked?"

"Well, I think Sophie was on that list somewhere…"

"Then let's call her Sophie."

"Sophie Eriksen, I like it," Marshall got up from the bed, pulled out his phone and called Ted, telling him to bring Nora in and to call Barney and Robin. Ted and Nora snuck into the room as quietly as they could (Sophie was sleeping) with Barney following them.

"Guys, this is Sophie!" I said, showing them our daughter.

"Awww!" they all cried; Nora was weeping, and Barney had his arm around her. Who knows, maybe my daughter would make Barney want to have a daughter of his own someday with Nora.

"Hey guys, where's Robin?" I asked, the whole gang crowded around me.

"I'm right here," Robin was standing in the door of the hospital room; I could only imagine what she was seeing: the whole gang was there, but instead of Barney's arm being around her like it would have been if he and Nora weren't together, Barney's arm was around Nora.

I couldn't imagine what she must be feeling like right now, seeing that Nora appeared to be taking her place in our group. She walked silently over to the side of the bed, and I could tell she had been crying. I knew what Nora had done, but I couldn't say anything right now. Nora was trying to push Robin out of the group, and as far as I could tell, she was succeeding so far in making Robin feel uncomfortable and out of place.

I smiled down at my daughter, trying not to think of what was happening to my friends.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**1 month later**

_Ted's perspective_

"So, bro, how's everything going? You must be stressed about the wedding," I took a sip of my beer as I spoke to Barney, who was currently staring at the door of the bar.

"Sorry, what?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Barney, what are you doing?"

"Whatever do you mean, good sir?"

"She's not coming. You know that."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Barney…"

"Alright, I was hoping Robin would come."

"Barney, you know why Robin isn't showing up."

"No I don't!"

"Barney, ever since Lilly had the baby, Robin has been absent more and more from our group outings."

"I haven't noticed."

"Barney…"

"What?"

"Did you notice then that she would be cool with it until Nora showed up?"

"I…"

"And did you notice that she left every time Nora got there after her?"

"Ted…"

"Face it, Barney, Nora is trying to push Robin out of the group and you just aren't trying to stop it."

Barney sat in silence, drinking his scotch. The whole Nora/Robin thing got Barney into a bad mood; he knew what he was doing, what Nora was doing, but he didn't care, or at least, didn't show that he did.

"Ted, I haven't meant to hurt her. I just…I don't want to mess things up with Nora."

"But at what cost, Barney? You and Robin have been friends for 7 years, and you've known Nora for what, 1 year? Imagine how Robin must be feeling."

"Can we talk about something else, Ted?" Barney asked, finishing his scotch and signaling to Wendy the Waitress that he wanted another one.

"Fine. So… how's Nora?"

"TED!"

"Alright…how's all the wedding stuff going?" I asked.

"It's alright, but there's so many damn things that she wants done a certain way and it's just too hard to keep up with her ever changing mind. I'm done with all this wedding crap."

"Hahahahahaha. For someone with your personality, it must be challenging."

"Yeah, tell me about it. I mean, first she wanted chicken, now she wants beef. Or first she wanted gerbera daisies, now she wants roses. I can't keep up with this woman, Ted."

I laughed at him, finishing my beer. As Barney's best man, I had some part in all of the wedding stuff, but I knew what he meant; Nora was a bridezilla from what Lilly had said.

"Hey Guys!" Lilly cried as she entered the bar with Marshall and Sophie in tow.

"Lilly, you can't have a baby in a bar!" I laughed.

"We are just trying to introduce her to the group early, you know, get her used to MacLaren's since she'll be spending a lot of time here," Marshall said, taking Sophie out of her seat and passing her to me, "Here you go, Uncle Ted."

"So, where's Robin?" Barney asked, taking a sip of his scotch.

"She's…on assignment. She said she's sorry she couldn't be here, but you know how it is," Lilly said.

Barney's face dropped, and for a long time the only sound at our table came from Sophie's quiet breathing. Nobody spoke again until Nora came in and sat where Robin usually sat when we all came to the bar.

"Hello, everyone," she said cheerily.

"Hey Nora," we all said, but obviously Barney was the only one to kiss her.

We sat and talked, drank, and took turns holding Sophie. It was like how it had been before Nora came into the group, when we all hung out together and were happy. We were listening to a joke that Nora had told when I saw her. Robin had just walked through the door and seen us all, sitting at our usual table, doing our usual thing, except instead of her, it was Nora. Nobody else saw her except me, and when our eyes met, her eyes told me what I already knew: Robin had been pushed out of the group, slowly but surely, and we couldn't stop it. She ran out of the bar before anyone else had a chance to see her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**2 ½ months later**

_Barney's Perspective_

"Ted, can I talk to Robin, please?" I asked as I pounded on the door.

"Tell him to GO AWAY!" I heard Robin yell.

"She wants you to go away, Barney," Ted said.

"Yeah, I get that," I said, pounding harder on the door.

Robin hadn't spoken to me directly in months. Ever since I had gotten engaged to Nora, Robin would smile politely at me then leave the room, but this week she had started not speaking to me all together, even if it was indirectly; maybe it was because the wedding was only a few days away? Unfortunately Ted was stuck in the middle of all of this because he was Robin's roommate and my best friend.

"Ted, open the damn door!" I shouted.

"I can't, Barney. Robin's got a shotgun pointed at it," he said. Jesus, Robin must really hate me.

"BARNEY, GET OUT OF HERE!" Robin shouted.

"WHAT DID I DO WRONG, ROBIN! TELL ME, PLEASE, THIS IS KILLING ME!" I shouted.

"There's nothing you can do, Barney!" she shouted.

"Robin…" I said, slumping to the ground and putting my face in my hands.

"GOODBYE!" she shouted; I heard her stomp off into her room.

Tears formed in my eyes. Robin and I had been friends for 7 years; she had become my wingman after Ted had gotten all 'I want to get married, I want to have babies, and I wish somebody would love me!'. The guy was pathetic, really; God knows I love Ted, he's my best friend, but all this marriage crap was giving me a headache, even though I was about to get married myself. I put my head between my legs, sobbing, until my phone rang.

"Go for Barney," I said, still crying a bit.

"Barney, it's Marshall. You sound like you've been crying, man. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, sure it is."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah."

"Well, come over then. Lily is taking the baby to see her dad so she isn't here right now; we can have some bro time."

"First of all, don't say 'bro time' again. It's lame. And yeah, I guess I'll be over in a few minutes." I got up off the floor and started to walk. Ranjeet was waiting in the car downstairs, ready to take me to Marshall and Lilly's. A few minutes later, I was there.

"Hey man," I said, hugging Marshall.

"Come on in, Barney."

"So…Lilly is taking Sophie to visit her dad?"

"Yeah, he still hasn't met Sophie yet, even though it's been a while since she was born."

"That's crazy! I can't believe he hasn't met her yet."

"Yeah, I know, right?"

"Right."

"So, Barney, what's wrong?"

"Nothing…"

"Is this about Robin?"

"No…"

"Dude, we've been friends for a long time now, you can't lie to me."

"Ok, fine. Robin won't speak to me. She basically threatened to shoot me through the door of their apartment."

"Why is she so pissed at you?"

"I don't know…"

"Barney, did you ever think that maybe she's mad about the wedding?"

"Why should she be?"

"Come on, man. You're not dumb."

"Wow, I can't believe you're saying that."

"Barney, Robin was the last one to find out you were getting married. She tried to be nice, but Nora was pushing her away. You didn't do anything about it, man. You knew what was going on, I know you did."

"Oh my god, you're right."

"I'm always right, bro."

We sat in silence for a while, sipping cold beers and staring at the floor. Marshall was right, I hadn't done anything when Nora started to push Robin out of the group. I was so caught up in my upcoming wedding that I hadn't even thought about it.

"So…what should I do?" I asked, taking a sip of my beer.

"I don't know if there's much you can do. Lilly said she's been really weepy and sad the past few times they've gone out for girls night."

"Should I try talking to her again?"

"I think you should let her go."

"But…"

"Dude, she doesn't want to talk. If she doesn't, then there is no hope of getting through to her. Just leave her be; if she ever wants to talk to you again, she will."

I finished my beer, thanked him for the talk, and left. Marshall had always been one to fix problems with his talks, but I had a feeling that he couldn't fix this one. There was nothing I could do to fix my problem, and even I, who was the most awesome person in the world, could not think of a way that this could get any better.

As I walked along the streets of Manhattan, I couldn't help but think of all the places I had been, the place that I had been with Robin. She was a fixture in all of my happiest memories, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I had lost her forever.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**1 week later**

_Marshall's perspective_

"Lilly, have you talked to Robin this week?" I asked, cradling Sophie in my arms as Lilly got dressed for Barney's wedding; she was a bridesmaid.

"Yeah, why?" she asked.

"I was just wondering if she was…"

"She's coming today, Marshall. I am pretty sure that Ted is bringing her as his date."

"He choice or his?"

"His. She didn't want to be there, but she feels like she owes it to Barney to be there.'

"Does he know?"

"I don't think so."

"Does Nora know?"

"She would throw a fit if she knew that Robin was going to be there."

Sophie cooed and laughed, but Lilly and I were silent. Silence had become very common in our group when talking about Robin; Nora hated her, Barney missed her, and none of us knew what to do about the entire situation.

Soon it was time to go; Ted was driving us in his car. It was good to be in the same general vicinity as Robin again, even if she didn't look too happy about it. We drove in silence, not wanting to make the situation any more awkward than it already was.

Around 20 minutes later, we arrived in New Jersey where Barney was getting married. Barney HATED New Jersey with a passion, so none of us could understand why he was getting married there. Apparently, Nora had some sort of 'connection' to the place, and she had insisted on getting married there.

Ted and I went straight to the courtyard of the place, while Lilly took Sophie in to see Nora and Barney. We sat outside for a few minutes, talking about the day, until Lilly came outside requesting that Ted go in to see Barney. I remained outside, sipping my beer and contemplating what was going to happen to our little group.

Soon, Ted came back outside and told me that it was time for the wedding; we went inside the building and waited for it to begin. Poor Robin was sitting right in the front row, right where she could see the action. The music began, and soon Nora was walking down the aisle; Robin began to cry.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Barney and Nora…" the Priest began. Robin looked at Ted with tears in her eyes as the Priest droned on. When it came time to do the vows, Robin began to sob even more. Barney looked at Robin, and clearly Nora noticed.

"Robin, would you mind shutting up?" Nora asked, interrupting the priest. Robin continued to sob, but was trying to wipe the tears away.

"Nora…" Ted said, going over to Robin and comforting her.

"What? She is interrupting my wedding. If she is going to sob like a child, she can leave." The whole room went silent and Robin began to get up out of her seat and walk towards the door.

"No," Barney said, walking towards Robin.

"Barney, get your ass back up here!" Nora kind of half talked, half shouted.

"It's fine, Barney, I need to go anyways…" Robin said, taking a handkerchief from Ted.

"No, Robin, you aren't going anywhere. I'm sorry, Nora, but I can't do this," Barney dismissed Ted and put his arm around Robin. Nora just stood there in disbelief, watching Barney.

"Barney…" Robin cried.

"I know," Barney wrapped his arms around Robin and kissed her as the whole crowd stared at them. I was quite amazed at Barney; not to sound bad or anything, but I had never expected this to happen. Clearly, neither did Nora, as she began to storm towards Barney and Robin, looking as if she was ready to kill; Barney held Robin behind him, protecting her.

"I am sorry, Nora. But Robin has always been the one for me, I just never saw it," Barney tried to apologize, but Nora wouldn't have it. She punched him square in the face, then left the building along with all of her guests.

Soon, the only 6 people left in the building were Barney, Ted, Robin, Lilly, Sophie, and myself. Barney was still holding Robin, and they were looking straight into each other's eyes.

All was as it should be.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**1 year later**

_Barney's Perspective_

I arrived at Cartier shortly after 5 in the afternoon, slipping in and out as quickly as I could (I had already picked out what I wanted). I had a big date planned for Robin and I for this evening, and my purchase was essential to the date. After I picked up what I wanted, I went to pick up Robin. Things had been going so well between us; we never fought, we never argued, we were just in love.

I arrived at her apartment a few minutes later and knocked on the door; Ted answered.

"Hey Bro," he said, shaking my hand.

"Hey, Bro," I said.

"So, is tonight the big night?"

"Yeah, it is. God, I am so nervous, Ted."

"I'm sure it will be fine, Barney."

"Yeah, you're right."

We waited in silence for a while, not speaking. After about 20 minutes, Robin came out of her room wearing the most amazing dress I had ever seen. It was short, low cut, and very sparkly; insanely sexy, in my opinion, and I was sure that Robin knew that I'd like it.

"Ready to go?" I asked. She came over and kissed me, taking my arm.

"Lead the way," she said.

It wasn't a very long trip to where we were going; it was only a short cab ride away from where Ted and Robin lived. After about 5 minutes in the cab, we arrived; Robin stepped out of the cab and stopped.

"Barney, what the hell?" she asked.

"What, Robin? I thought you liked Masa."

"I do, Barney, but this place is like price fixed at 500 dollars! Are you sure you want to be here?"

"I really do. Now come on, let's go in before you catch cold in that dress."

The whole restaurant was empty except for one small table in the middle and a piano man sitting quietly while playing music. A waiter dressed in Robin's favorite color (red) led us to the table, and soon we were waiting for our meal.

"Barney, why are we here? I know you have lots of money, but this place is ridiculously expensive," Robin took a sip of her champagne. I signaled to the piano man, and he started to play Robin's favorite song.

"Robin, I have never felt this way about anyone before…"

"Oh My God!"

"And I have loved you for longer than I can remember. I know we've had a rough road, but I really think…"

"OH MY GOD!"

"That we are perfect for each other. Robin, like this song says, you are my Wonderwall. My reason for existing, and I cannot picture my life without you. I wouldn't want to."

"Barney, are you about to do what I think you are about to do?"

I pulled the box out of my pocket and got down on one knee, "Robin Scherbatsky, will you marry me?"

"YES!" Robin practically jumped out of her chair and kissed me. When we stopped, I opened the box and put the ring on her finger. She giggled and cried and hugged me, then looked down at the ring. Her eyes focused in on it then she started to laugh.

"Barney, are those little diamonds shaped like maple leafs?" she asked.

"Call it my way of making this occasion a little bit amusing."

We laughed and kissed some more then ate our food. When we were done, we decided to call the gang down to MacLaren's with the promise of a big surprise. When we got there, Robin was trying to hide the ring and acting like she wasn't excited at all.

"Where's the poop, Robin?" Lilly asked, keeping hold of Sophie as Sophie was trying to run away.

"There's no poop Lilly," Robin laughed.

"Robin, where's the poop?" Marshall asked.

"Marshall, there is no poop!" I laughed, looking at Robin and smiling. She was a terrible liar.

"Robin, Barney, where is the poop?" Ted asked, smiling at me. He already knew what was going on. Robin and I laughed, then she took her hand out from under the table.

"There's the poop!" she said, flashing her ring at everyone.

Lilly screamed like a little girl, almost tossing Sophie, while Marshall gave me a big hug and Ted just smiled.

"You're engaged, you're engaged!" Lilly shouted.

"Congrats, Bro, I always knew you weren't a man ho" Marshall laughed.

"I'm really happy for you, Scherbatsky," Ted laughed and joined Lilly in hugging Robin.

We were surrounded by our best friends, sitting in our favorite place, and doing our favorite thing during one of the happiest moments of our lives. All was as it should be.


End file.
